Acetaldehyde essays

Acetaldehyde essays The chemical compound ethanal more commonly known as acetaldehyde is an organic compound, which is created by the oxidation of ethanol, the loss of two hydrogen atoms to give a product containing a double bond to the oxygen and a single hydrogen bond. Acetaldehyde has many uses in the industrial world including the manufacturing of rubbers, fuels (which was more urgent in the 1970s), and food flavoring and preservative. The general population is exposed to acetaldehyde in many forms and concentrations. For the most part, acetaldehyde is relatively safe, such as in the use of air deodorizers and flavoring agents. However, it can cause some health hazards with increased exposure of high amounts of it, which normally occurs in agricultural industries and fuel stations. Acetaldehyde is a compound that can be found in yeast- fermented products and as a result of forest fires, feces, and insects. Producing acetaldehyde with no contaminates has been successful to date with the bioconversio n method. This enables the use of acetaldehyde in fruits to increase the natural flavoring and to decrease the fruits astringency in order to have an edible fruit in a shorter amount of time. Acetaldehyde has also proven to be a preservative of vitamins in rice, where in, acetaldehyde acts as a cross link to reinforce the grains internal structure. Acetaldehyde has proven its kindness to the environment. It rapidly volatilizes from water or land into the ground where it can biodegrade. Thus, the attributes acetaldehyde possess gives it the ability to have such a wide variety of purposes from developing rubber and substitute fuels to enhancing the flavoring of one of the food groups and preserving the vitamins and minerals in food needed for the nourishment of a healthy body. ...